This homemade French Onion Soup recipe will knock your socks off! Made with the richest broth, perfect caramelized onions, and topped with three different types of melted cheese!Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT70M
Total time: PT85M
Rating
4.99 stars (233 reviews)
Keywords
French Onion Soup, French Onion Soup Recipe
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 large yellow onions (thinly sliced)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup dry red wine ((see note))
32 ounces low-sodium beef broth
24 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
5 1-inch thick slices of French bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere Swiss cheese (room temperature)
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (room temperature)
In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add in the onions and sauté, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, stir in the salt and sugar; cook for another 35 minutes, stirring occasionally (every 5 minutes or so), until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds.
Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom and sides.
Add in the beef broth, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaf.
Gently simmer over medium/medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove and discard the herbs.
Mix in balsamic vinegar and taste. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
Reduce heat to low, cover to keep hot while you prepare the bread.
Preheat oven broiler, with rack 6 inches from the heat source. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides with the olive oil. Broil 2-3 minutes total, flipping once, until well toasted on both sides. (NOTE: keep an eye on the bread the entire time to ensure it doesn't burn. Every oven is different.) Remove from heat; leave broiler on.
Arrange oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, and sprinkle with the Swiss, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses.
Broil until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will fall over the sides of the crock and form a wonderful crusty seal.
Serve and enjoy!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 378 kcal
Carbohydrates: 21 g
Protein: 18 g
Fat: 24 g
Saturated Fat: 13 g
Cholesterol: 60 mg
Sodium: 1014 mg
Sugar: 9 g
Reviews
Dani on 2026-04-07 (5 stars): This is my first time making French onion soup and I used to not like it, but I had a bunch of onions and decided to try it again. OMG it was delicious. I didn't have any thyme so I just added an extra bay leaf, but this is definitely a recipe to keep on hand.
Sunshine on 2026-04-05 (5 stars): This recipe is crazy good! I used homemade bone broth, and brown sugar, and added just a bit more sugar and wow. Unreal. Immediately wrote it down and added to my recipe box. Thank you!
Kelly Naab on 2026-04-04 (5 stars): The French Onion soup was absolutely delicious!! I will be making this again for sure!!
Lois on 2026-03-29 (5 stars): So very good! I also only used a tsp of balsamic. I had some store bought garlic bread, toasted it up in the oven and added the swiss, mozzarella, and parm cheeses. I made the soup the day before to let all those beautiful flavors meld! And I am patting myself on the back for waiting the entire time for those onions to carmelize with only a taste or two (or three or four). It is worth it!
Kimberly on 2026-03-23 (5 stars): First time making this soup. Very delicious and easy will be making it often.
G T on 2026-03-17 (5 stars): This was incredibly easy to prepare. The flavor is delicious. The only thing I’d change is to decrease the liquid by one cup as I had to cook it down longer than anticipated so it would get to a better consistency. Also don’t add the bread until it’s time to set in oven. I made this mistake and the crouton soaked up the liquid!
Lisa Survoy on 2026-03-06 (4 stars): Made this tonight with last season's home-grown yellow onions. The flavor was very good. I would maybe only use a tsp of the Worcestershire sauce.
Blessings.
Ann on 2026-02-27 (4 stars): Delicious! Made it today. I used medium sized and recommend 5 very large or 7 or 8 medium. You can always put any extra caramelized onions on burgers etc.
CONSTANCE HEGEL on 2026-02-24 (5 stars): WONDERFUL, WILL MAKE AGAIN
Tracy on 2026-02-20 (5 stars): The worst French onion soup I’ve ever had was in Paris, France. The absolute BEST French onion soup I’ve ever had was this recipe! Easy to follow recipe and surprisingly it turned out exactly like the photo! The red wine and touch of balsamic vinegar gave it the depth that is always missing. The only thing I altered was I used a smoky scamorza cheese (cousin to the mozzarella) in the mix. This was an absolute crowd pleaser! Thank you!
Charman Gonzalez on 2026-02-16 (5 stars): The best French Onion soup I have EVER eaten! Made it exactly like the recipe called for and it was simply amazing!
Susan on 2026-02-15 (5 stars): I keep trying different recipes. This was one of the best and I will be sticking to this one.
BeckV on 2026-02-14 (5 stars): This was a home run for Valentine's Day dinner. French onion soup is a favorite of my husband's but I've never attempted it. This was an easy to follow recipe, without too many unusual ingredients. However it was absolutely delicious!! Thank you!
George on 2026-02-13 (5 stars): It was really good , My dinner party loved the soup I so did I
Peggy Jude on 2026-02-05 (5 stars): I just made this for dinner tonight. And it was amazing. It is a little tedious, so be patient and it will be worth it. I followed the directions to the letter and it turned out perfectly the first time.
Kathy W. on 2026-02-03 (5 stars): I made this recipe and followed the directions to the letter. The prep and cook times were longer for me but that’s okay because I know that I am slow In the kitchen. lol. It was full of flavor and the mix of cheeses was so good. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
